Trash Press Release

WORKING TITLE FILMS AND PEAPIE FILMS ACQUIRE TRASH

28th March 2011: Random House Children’s Books and Jane Turnbull are thrilled to announce that Working Title Films and PeaPie Films have acquired the film rights to Trash, the acclaimed novel by British author, Andy Mulligan in a deal brokered by Jenne Casarotto of Casarotto Ramsay Associates.

Richard Curtis, Britain’s most successful screenwriter will adapt the novel. Alongside his many award-winning original screenplays for television (Blackadder, Vicar Of Dibley) and film (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill), Curtis has also adapted previous literary work, including The Ladies Detective Agency and recently War Horse for director Stephen Spielberg.

Trash is a contemporary thriller set in the third world, and follows three boys who eke out a living picking through rubbish mounds, until a surprise discovery sets them on a breathtaking adventure pitting their wits against corruption and authority. The book is published in the UK and US by David Fickling Books, an imprint of Random House. Fickling previously saw international success with the crossover titles Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Trash has already been translated into 16 other languages.

Kris Thykier says, “From the opening pages of Trash, I knew that I had discovered one of the most thrilling, dynamic and inspiring books I’d ever come across. I am truly excited at the prospect of bringing Andy Mulligan’s joyful story to the screen and am honoured to be working with Working Title, whom I consider to be the best production company in the world and Richard, one of my favourite screenwriters and Stephen, who is justly considered one of the greatest directors of his generation.”

Andy Mulligan says: “As far as I'm concerned this is the dream-team, and what has really impressed me is their desire to tell the story as it is, without coating it in sugar. They 'get' the book, and you can't ask for more than that.”

Notes for Editors

Trash is published in paperback on 31st March 2011; it was first published by David Fickling Books in September 2010.

Working Title

Founded in 1983, Working Title has made more than 90 films that have grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. Its films have won six Academy Awards®, 26 BAFTA Awards and prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. The company’s commercial and critical hits include The Interpreter, About a Boy, Notting Hill, Elizabeth, Fargo, Dead Man Walking, Bean, High Fidelity, Johnny English, Billy Elliot, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, Pride & Prejudice, Nanny McPhee, United 93, Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Hot Fuzz, Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Atonement, Burn After Reading and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

PeaPie Films

PeaPie Films was founded by Kris Thykier at the end of 2009. Thykier is currently in post-production on two films, he is Producer of W.E. written and directed by Madonna and starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy and Oscar Isaac; and Executive Producer of Ill Manors, written and directed by Ben Drew, a.k.a. Plan B. Prior to launching PeaPie, he was partnered with Matthew Vaughn in MARV Films. Whilst at MARV, the pair produced The Debt, a psychological spy thriller directed by John Madden, starring Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain; Daniel Barber’s Harry Brown starring Sir Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer; and two films written and directed by Vaughn: KickAss, based on Mark Millar’s (Wanted) best-selling graphic novel, starring Nicholas Cage, Mark Strong and Aaron Johnson; and Stardust, the epic fairytale starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro and Charlie Cox. The films have grossed over $300 million at the worldwide box-office.